Just another road trip, just another loss, just another
summer
slipping away.

Needles and Threads - Web
Gems

Poetry in a Pinch

The force of hopeful habit
Brings us to many ends
Whose points are not apparent
As misfortune far extends.

There are many ways to lift your team --
To give the boys a spark,
And then there are the lineup moves
That whistle in the dark.

Oh -- a million futile gestures
Where failure's chance is stark --
But none is quite so useless
As pinch-hitting Tony Clark.

8.14 - Romero Romine

Monday August 12, 2002

Nothing to
Fehr but Friday Itself

No strike date set. Revenue sharing and luxury tax
amounts to be finalized this week. If there's a snag (and if this is just
a cheap PR stunt), players will take it up again on Friday. MVP (Most
Valuable Playerep) Tony is second from left.

First Propped by Big Dog last summer (on WEEI's Sunday Baseball Show), Kevin Hench is the
real up-and-comer of Big League Baseball Writers. Hench, whose Hardball
column has been posted here since July 2001, is the King of the New
Keyboard. The so-called "hottest writer" plugged by the 'I hate New
York' t-shirt guys was always an also-ran. Kudos to The Boston Globe's Gordon Edes for catching
this rising star. This snippet from yesterday's 'Hench's Corner':

''Here's hoping the enduring image from another summer of discontent is
not the baffled countenance of Boston's finest as Terrence Long pulled
Manny's would-be walkoff homer out of the bullpen. The image of the cop in
the pen got me thinking: Has there ever been a Red Sox relief corps in
more dire need of police protection?''

Saturday August 10, 2002

Wake Up! Sox Only Four Games Back!

Pedro Gets World Serious.

Now that's someone to tip your cap to Grady. Sox 2 Twins 0.

Friday August 9, 2002

Pop-Up Plops Down

The defense rests again and it's lights out for late inning hitting.

Minnesota 5 Boston 4

CastillOH-MY-GOD!

What in the world was Frank doing in there in
the seventh inning of a tie game? Embree comes in for Texas
blowouts, but not tie games? Lefties coming up and no Haney?

Grady drops to 4-17 in last 21 one-run games
(and what is Felipe Alou doing this evening?)

Needles and Threads - Web
Gems

Grady's Game Strategies

(or lack thereof)

8.9 - Posts From Around the Web after
latest one run loss: "Can anyone think of a good reason for Frank
Castillo to have started this inning? Rivas can't hit lefties.
Guzman can't. Koskie can't. Ortiz can't. There's two rested
lefties in the #%&! pen... I think that 92 year old fossil that Tom Caron
just interviewed could pitch better than Frank Castillo... After another
dose of this passive, spectating managing, some Lou Piniella over-managing
would be refreshing... Come on, for the love of Christ, if we lose another
one run game I'm going to spray paint my neighbor's dog orange and beat it
senseless with a frying pan... This one is Grady Little's fault.
Castillo's blowup was easily predictable and there were much better
options in the pen. The team's inability to get any runs off of
lefthanders was easily correctable, but Grady Little doesn't have a #%&!
clue... Wow, these other teams sure are rude! We bring in the 12th guy on
the pitching staff to pitch a tie game in the seventh inning and the Twins
bring in their top setup guys!! The nerve! They have
obligations as guests just like Grady does to be a genial, obliging host,
don't they?... The way Grady manages is the way you manage an "A" or AA
team. Lots of support and understanding and wins or losses don't mean too
much as long as your guys develop. So, you stretch players past their
apparent limits to see if they can adjust, see if they can grow. That's
all just fine, at AA. Not here. This guy is throwing away our shot at the
playoffs... I would be very curious as to how Lucchino is reacting to all
this. I suspect Grady should rent."

Feeling Minnesota?

Sox Need Twin Killings All Weekend Long.
Casey's at the Mat.

Needles and Threads - Web
Gems

The Precarious 'Even Keel'

(Lose the attitude?)

8.9 - From JD at Your Turn: "One
area that some of us have commented about over the past few days is the
demeanor of the Red Sox players during their recent .500 streak. The sight
of players laughing after an error by one of them in a crucial game
against a wild-card opponent rubbed many of us the wrong way. Others have
come out in defense of the players and stressed the importance of the team
maintaining an even keel during tough times. I canít say that I disagree
with that thought, as I certainly donít want to see our team pressing
during this crucial stretch.

I guess what I would like to see from the Red Sox players is an attitude
of righteous indignation. The attitude of players who know that they are
very good and will simply not stand to have lesser teams take away what
rightfully should be theirs. In short, the kind of attitude that Pedro
Martinez takes to the mound every start. Pedro looks like the most
fun-loving guy in the dugout when heís not starting, but when heís on the
mound, he is all business. The team could do worse than take their cue
from him."

Thursday August 8, 2002

Sweet 16
and Lowedown

Sox Survive to Live Another Day 4-2

Derek Comes Through in an Honest-to-God "Must" Win:
"I felt I had to win this game."

Lowe will have his hands full with A's to Zito.
(And the Yankees have already won today)

NOT LONG ENOUGH

Oakland is to Dye for. A's Get Extra Outs
and Hold On for 3-2 Win.

Needles and Threads: Web Gems

A Nation Turns Nasty

(Here's Where John,
Tom, and Larry Learn That They're Not in San Diego, Florida Anymore)

8.6 - After Last Night's Game from
Pumpsie:
"Sorry, but a "winner" hits that ball a few inches further than Manny did
for a three-run walk-off homer. "Close" only counts in horseshoes. In
baseball, we have winners and losers and this team plays like a bunch of
losers. This is a talented (7 all-stars plus Floyd),
underperforming, disappointing, sleepy team which gives away way too many
atbats, loses focus at critical times and doesn't seem too disturbed about
it. And, yes, Grady Little and Tony Cloninger have a LOT to do with that.

And not only did Damon, while
positioning himself somewhere on the Mass Pike, break the wrong way twice
on Hatteburg, he (Damon) laughed about it BOTH times with Nomar and Floyd.
He laughed about it, as if this was a Sunday pickup softball game. And I
thought to myself, "you know, I've NEVER seen a Yankee laugh at a goof he
had just made and still be on the team the next day. And that's the
right attitude, and that's why we always come up short to these #%&!
Could you imagine Bernie Williams yucking it up with Jeter after screwing
up a play like that (or waiting around for Terrence Long to congratulate
him on his catch after the game!)? It would never happen.
Those guys are serious as heart attacks. I wish our guys were as
well.

After watching Nomar lately, I have to
admit I've come to understand those who say that Derek Jeter is a better
ballplayer than Nomar and that they'd take Jeter over Nomar. Nomar
is more talented, for sure. Nomar's a much more talented hitter than
Jeter, and is a better defensive player than Jeter (Jeter's better on the
basepaths but that just might be because Nomar's too precious to go
sliding into second... (God forbid). But Jeter comes through again
and again and again and again when it really matters... and Nomar doesn't.

Jeter will battle in a key atbat as if
his very life depended on it. And, more often than not, he'll get the job
done.... somehow. Nomar goes up there (admitting he doesn't even
know who the pitcher is until he gets in the ondeck circle) with his mind
made up to swing at the first pitch and gives atbats away every game.
Let's face it, Nomar's the anti-Ted Williams.

And Nomar does not get himself dirty...
for anybody. What is he made of, antique glass? He has good speed
(probably better than Jeter's) but does he ever try to use it on the bases
when the team really needs it? Too much trouble, it seems.

This team lacks cojones and focus.
Kind of like our "Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" manager."

Truth be Told: Carl Everett Hits Two Home Runs and Seven RBI
in the First Two Innings (Tell me again about that Oliver trade Duke?). Texas 19 Boston 7.

Thursday August 1, 2002

OFF GOES OFF ON WAY OUT DOOR

Verbally Abuses Mike Port and Boston Writers.
Blames Media for Problems in Boston. Angry because he wasn't left
behind in California where he has a house, had to "fly to Texas."

IT'S OFFICIAL!
TAKE IT
TO THE BANKS

It is Offerman
(and Banks)

Thursday August 1, 2002 - 8:47am
EDT

E X C L U S I V E BREAKING HUNCH OFFERMAN GETS RELEASED TODAY:

Offermania!

Break out your dancing shoes,
but don't do the 'Mockerina' this time. Mike Port en route to Texas to
release Jose Offerman.

We Think, and Pray, That
Larry Did the Right Thing and Spared Rickey and Lou, and Won't Do the Tony
DL Band-aid Bailout.

Larry Lucchino with WEEI's
Dennis & Callahan this morning:

Gerry Callahan: (with move coming
today) We know you like to break news here Larry, who gets sent down?
Who gets released when Floyd and Howry show up in Texas?

LL: (Ha, oh yes Callahan)
I'm going to wait and let Mike Port do that. He's going to Texas, which
would indicate that this isn't your garden variety move, he will
communicate the motivation behind these moves (directly). Remember that
in September we can bring more guys up. If someone did go down, that
person could come up in September. But Mike has some more unusual
approaches (to this roster situation today).

GC: Would you not release
someone with a large salary because of a possible strike (you'd be stuck
paying the salary/contract during a strike)?

LL: Yes... that would be a
factor. But it's the depth of a team that matters in August, September,
and October. How many times have we seen the big blows in pennant
races struck by the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th guy on the team. So in this
case, we're not worried about the luxury of that issue. I think that
means taking on a slightly-enhanced financial risk.

We
said 'should we sit by the phones (like the other teams) or because Omar
Minaya has worked with Doug Melvin before, should we can have a Canadian
on the ground in Canada, and be close to the guy that used to work for
him, so if lightning struck, we'd be the closest tree?'

Knucklehead Knocks 'Em Out

Pitching, Defense, and Sac Flies Get the Job
Done.

Wake, Pen Wrap Up Angels 2-1, Sox Take Series 2-1, and Sox Pick Up
2 Players and are Now #1 in Wildcard.

"This is
a player of sufficient caliber that even a team south of us (the New York
Yankees) was trying to acquire,'' said general manager Mike Port.
"The Red Sox were the ones able to get the job done.''

The ďCurtís Pitch
for ALSĒ program is a joint effort by Curt and Shonda Schilling, and The
ALS Association Mass Chapter to strike out Amyotrophic Lateral
Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrigís Disease.

Curt and Shonda
will be contributing $25,000 to The ALS Association Massachusetts
Chapter, and they are asking fans to contribute as well. All proceeds
will benefit research and patient services for those in Massachusetts
affected by the disease. Program participants will receive different
incentive prizes based on the dollar amount per strikeout that they
pledge.
Please
click here to learn more about the program.